Atomically engineered metal-insulator transition at the TiO2/LaAlO3 heterointerface.

ABSTRACT

We demonstrate that the atomic boundary conditions of simple binary oxides can be used to impart dramatic changes of state. By changing the substrate surface termination of LaAlO3 (001) from AlO2 to LaO, the room-temperature sheet conductance of anatase TiO2 films are increased by over 3 orders of magnitude, transforming the intrinsic insulating state to a high mobility metallic state, while maintaining excellent optical transparency.